Labour Ministry to commence ‘massive’ inspections of private schools for malpractice — Bataineh

AMMAN — Minister of Labour Nidal Bataineh has directed the ministry’s inspection cadres and judicial police to carry out a “massive and intensive campaign" to verify private schools’ abidance by the various Defence Orders issued by the government as part of its coronavirus response.

Confirming the reinstatement of teachers whose contracts were terminated and the compensation of their wages is among the ministry’s top priorities, the minister highlighted in a statement on Monday.

“Any practices that affect the free will of teachers, such as forcing them to leave their posts, will also be considered a violation,” he said.

Thaer Kokash, a lawyer who has taken on several cases filed by teachers against private schools, told The Jordan Times over the phone that some private schools took advantage of “the Defence Order stipulating that organisations that were ‘badly affected’ by the virus’ repercussions could reduce salaries by 60 per cent”.

"Private schools, most of which received tuition fees in full, are not among badly affected institutions and should not have benefitted from this order,” Kokash said.

As stipulated by the instructions issued in Defence Order No. 6 regarding employers renewing expired contracts, Bataineh said that wages must be issued in line with the Defence Order, an issue the campaign aims to inspect.

“The campaign also comes as a result of a number of complaints that the ministry has received regarding ill practices from some schools that involve forcing teachers to take leave without pay,” the minister added.

Most teachers, he asserted, have the “standard” contract, which is a 10-month contract renewed each year. The majority of these teachers have lost their jobs.

In this regard, Bataineh said that maintaining employment opportunities in the private sector in light of the economic crisis that the Kingdom is currently suffering is “among the ministry’s top priorities".

The inspection teams will review all fixed-term work contracts of teachers in private schools that expired before April 30 for Jordanian workers only, renewing them automatically.

The minister pointed out that these measures were “implemented in order to preserve teachers’ jobs and to follow up on violations by some owners of private schools so that they can be closed immediately”.

The minister called upon the inspectors to follow best practices that reflect the “positive image of the ministry and its employees, conducting themselves in a way that achieves the public good through these campaigns”.

Employers "need to cooperate with the inspection teams by enabling them to perform their duties and by contributing to preserving the rights of workers", he noted.